06:40 AM EDT, 06/04/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets gained Wednesday on tech-sector strength and on hopes of improving China-US trade relations.

Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo finished in the green, as did most other regional exchanges.

Taiwan shares moved north after index heavyweight Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing reiterated strong growth prospects in the pending quarters, in an annual shareholders meeting.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 moved higher on Wall Street cues and tech-sector strength, finishing up 0.8% after media reports that US tech giant Meta Platforms (META) had secured electricity from a nuclear plant to meet power demand from AI and data centers.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 300.64 to 37,747.03, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 138 to 82.

Leading the upside was Furukawa Electric, up 6.3%, while consultancy BayCurrent fell 2.3%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher and rose through the day, closing up 0.6% on the outlook for a possible improvement in Beijing-Washington trade relations.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 141.54 to 23,654.03, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 55 to 24. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 0.6% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 0.9%.

Leading the upside was CSPC Pharmaceutical, gaining 4.1%, while Trip.com declined 3.9%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.4% to 3,376.20.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 2.7% following a national election; the Taiwan TWSE advanced 2.3%; the Australian ASX 200 gained 0.9%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.2%, and the Thai Set declined 1.5%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.3%

In other news, the ASEAN manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) rose to 49.2 in May from 48.7 in April, but still struck below the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction, reported S&P Global.

For its ASEAN PMI report, the nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam are surveyed by S&P Global.